What is the Dunkin’ Smoked Vanilla Cold Brew?
Sweet and spicy? Been there, done that. Sweet and salty? Played out! Sweet and smoky? Hmm, is Dunkin’ on to something here?
How is it?
Dunkin’ is, in fact, NOT on to something here.
Let’s just clear the air first – this is a weird flavor choice. I guess I see why Dunkin’ would do it. It does look cool on paper, but it’s always had a vanilla representation on the menu, and the “smoke” element really didn’t set it apart at all. It’s not all that “smokey.” All I can really say is, the vanilla flavor seemed to have a unique lingering effect to it, so maybe I’ll just credit that to the smoke…?
I always get one swirl just to sweeten my cold brews up a bit, and my choice varies by the day. I’ve had em all, and there really hasn’t been one that I dislike. Smoked Vanilla reminded me of a combination of two of ’em – Vanilla and Caramel.
The flavor was vaguely Werther’s Original, which sounds great as I type it, but “vaguely” is the keyword there. It was like those Werther’s soft caramels with a vanilla filling or those “Cow Tail” candies that I think only me and 43 other people eat. I love those, so even a hint of that flavor was welcome.
That’s all good and well, but it wasn’t what I was being sold. Where’s the smoke? I’m struggling to even hypothesize what “Smoked Vanilla” was supposed to taste like. Maybe it really was just a slightly caramelized vanilla flavor, and they absolutely nailed it.
Anything else you need to know?
I use oat milk as my dairy, so that may have counteracted the smoke. Who knows? I’m just trying to think of any reason why I didn’t get any. I wasn’t expecting it to taste like brisket, but I expected some sort of intriguing smokiness.
This brew also had sweet cold foam, and it didn’t even last the walk from the Dunkin’ lobby to my car. I apologize, but I can’t even really tell you if it added any flavor to the drink whatsoever. Foam doesn’t really last in a cold iced drink, so I’m not even sure what I was expecting. From what I recall from the last time I had it, it was just a generic sugary sweetener.
Conclusion:
Hey, we’ve got another option to sweeten our drinks. Ya really can’t be too mad about that. If you’re expecting this to taste like a flambeed dessert or something, you’re probably gonna be let down.
Will Smoked Vanilla last as a flavor? I doubt it, but you may think it delivers a lot more than I did, so give it a shot. It’s like the “smoke-heads” love to say, “Smoke ’em if you’ve got ’em.”
Purchased Price: $4.29
Size: Medium
Rating: 4 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 190 calories, 3 grams of fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 10 mg of cholesterol, 55 milligrams of sodium, 39 grams of total carbohydrates, 36 grams of total sugars, 0 grams of fiber, and 1 gram of protein.
Jeez–$4.29 for a medium coffee with some vanilla flavoring (OK, and some “smoke”)? Yeah, it’s cold brew, meaning that it’s even easier to set up to steep the night before at home and then pour at breakfast . . . . Consumers really need to be calling the coffee shops, etc. of the world out on this.
What you say!!!! Because I always forget to brew the night before I brew it, stick in the freezer for an hour and Voila Magic! I save tons of money and it tastes better than any Dunkin’ or Coffee house. I make it how I like it cuz they never get it right!
Seems like they’re trying to appeal to a different market that their typical one; with this and the avocado toast. And chances are that they are not using real smoked vanilla, just smoke flavouing added to the syrup. Could be wrong though.
I’m not sure how much every cup of coffee I drink costs, but since I always make it at home, the price per cup is MUCH more reasonable! Publix had a BOGO a few months ago on instant espresso powder, so I bought four jars. Then I add some flavored creamer and sugar. I don’t know why people spend their hard earned cash on coffee that’s made in a store, unless they’re truckers or something like that. Sorry, totally pointless comment. Just saying that coffee made at home is cheaper. 🙂
^ +1.